Latest news with #anti-racism
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Dining across the divide: ‘She said ‘woke' had gone too far'
Occupation Early retired primary headteacher Voting record A diehard Lib Dem, but will vote tactically and loves Labour's Cat Smith, who she says is a great local MP Amuse bouche She's a governor of two independent schools in Kazakhstan, one in its capital, Astana, and one in Almaty Occupation Geography lecturer Voting record Used to vote Labour, but was put off by their stance on the Palestinian cause and their attitude to the left. Now votes Green Amuse bouche Once, she and some flatmates made their own version of Findus Crispy Pancakes from scratch Emma She seemed very nice, very smiley. We were having a bit of banter outside straightaway. Sue The first two minutes were awkward, but once we had looked at the menu we didn't shut up. Emma We both had surf and turf. She ordered it and I had to ask the waitress how to use the tools to eat the lobster. It was delicious. Sue I had chocolate mousse for dessert, and Emma had raspberry and elderflower sorbet. It was beautiful; the whole place was gorgeous. Emma The main bone of contention was that she said 'woke' had gone too far. It was originally an African-American term that means being aware of structural racism. So to suggest it's gone too far is to suggest anti-racism has gone too far, that social justice has, which it obviously hasn't. It must be very frustrating for African Americans, that their language gets co-opted. It's important to remember who it belongs to and not let it be neutralised. Sue If by 'woke' you're talking about protected characteristics, then obviously I respect those; they are absolutely essential. But I feel it stifles free speech, and those who are marginalised become even more so. Emma Sue has worked in schools in a lot of really deprived communities. Her concern is that when you get this intellectual censoriousness of liberal identity politics, the people the left should be serving are excluded. Sue If you over-police and don't look at context, you won't have any idea where people are coming from; whether they might be receptive to changing their view. You have to really work to understand what it's like when you haven't got a voice. Somebody who hasn't had a privileged, middle-class education, who lives a hand-to-mouth existence – their reality is going to be polar opposite. Sue I bet Emma is an amazing lecturer. She speaks with such passion about the young people she's working with. And I was talking with equal passion about the children I've worked with – lack of school readiness is really striking. We had children whose socialisation, speech, potty training, just general physical strength, weren't where they should have been. They hadn't got the pincer grip needed to write because they'd used screens and simply swiped. Emma We're both quite anti social media; neither of us use it. We both think young people need to spend more time outside, and we've seen negative impacts in the cohorts we teach. Nowadays, students come to university and it will be their first time pushed into independence, very high stakes. I think it affects their happiness. They seem very stressed, and you shouldn't be stressed when you're 19 – you should be living your best life. Emma I work in the environment department at the university and I live in an eco-community, so all my friends and colleagues were saying: 'You've got to say this about net zero, you've got to say that.' And then I met Sue and she said: 'I've got an environmental science degree, I'm not against net zero.' Sue She thought I was going to be all 'Drill, baby, drill'. She said: 'Shall I tell you about my eco house?' And I said: 'Yes, please.' Emma I almost felt like I doing a Blind Date. We had loads of very personal conversations, and kept saying: 'This doesn't go in the paper.' We ended up going very deep. Sue We had so much in common. She's the type of person I would want to be friends with. She's absolutely authentic and I trusted her. Additional reporting: Kitty Drake Emma and Sue ate at Quite Simply French in Lancaster. Want to meet someone from across the divide? Find out how to take part
South China Morning Post
27-05-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
Speedy release of Liverpool parade suspect's race, ethnicity ‘unprecedented'
The speed at which police released the race and ethnicity of the suspect in the Liverpool car incident is 'unprecedented', a former chief superintendent has said. Merseyside police confirmed they had a arrested a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area around two hours after the incident that left dozens of people including four children hurt. The force was criticised in the wake of the Southport murders last summer for not releasing more information after false rumours were started online that the killer was a Muslim asylum seeker. Former Metropolitan Police chief superintendent Dal Babu told BBC Radio 5 Live: 'What we do have, which is unprecedented, is the police very quickly giving the ethnicity and the race of the person who was driving the vehicle … and it was Merseyside police who didn't give that information with the Southport horrific murders of those three girls, and the rumours were that it was an asylum seeker who arrived on a boat and it was a Muslim extremist and that wasn't the case. 'So I think what the police have done very, very quickly, and I've never known a case like this before where they've given the ethnicity and the race of the individual who was involved in it, so I think that was to dampen down some of the speculation from the far-right that sort of continues on X even as we speak that this was a Muslim extremist and there's a conspiracy theory.' 03:11 Anti-racism protests sweep UK after far-right riots against immigration Anti-racism protests sweep UK after far-right riots against immigration In March, chief constable Serena Kennedy told British MPs she wanted to dispel disinformation in the immediate aftermath of the Southport murders by releasing information about the attacker Axel Rudakubana's religion, as he came from a Christian family, but was told not to by local crown prosecutors.
CBS News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Most books pulled from Naval Academy library returned to the shelves amid DEI review
All but a few of the nearly 400 books that the U.S. Naval Academy removed from its library because they dealt with anti-racism and gender issues are back on the shelves after the newest Pentagon-ordered review — the latest turn in a dizzying effort to rid the military of materials related to diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Based on the new review, about 20 books from the academy's library are being pulled aside to be checked, but that number includes some that weren't identified or removed in last month's initial purge of 381 books, defense officials told The Associated Press. A few dozen books at the Air Force libraries — including at the Air Force Academy — also have been pulled out for review, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the process is still ongoing. The back-and-forth on book removals reflects a persistent problem in the early months of the Trump administration, as initial orders and demands for an array of policy changes have been forced to be reworked, fine-tuned and reissued because they were vague, badly defined or problematic. The reviews and changes at military libraries and to websites, social media accounts and more are part of the Trump administration's far-reaching efforts to purge so-called DEI content from federal agencies. The Pentagon earlier this month issued a detailed directive to all military leaders and commands to pull and review all library books addressing diversity, anti-racism or gender issues by Wednesday. The order contained more specific search words than earlier guidance and verbal orders from Defense Department leaders, and officials said it resulted in dramatically fewer banned books than initially thought. The Navy said in a statement Wednesday that it reviewed the library collections at all of its educational institutions to ensure compliance with the directives, noting that materials have been "identified and sequestered." The Army and Air Force also have reviewed their collections. All of the services' libraries had to provide their new lists of books to Pentagon leaders. Now additional guidance will be given on how to cull those lists, if needed, and determine what should be permanently removed. The review also will "determine an appropriate ultimate disposition" for those materials, according to a Defense Department memo. The May 9 memo — signed by Timothy Dill, who is performing the duties of the deputy defense undersecretary for personnel — did not say what will happen to the books or whether they will be stored away or destroyed. The libraries at the military academies and and those at other schools and commands had to remove educational materials "promoting divisive concepts and gender ideology" because they are incompatible with the Defense Department's core mission, the memo said. A temporary Academic Libraries Committee set up by the department is overseeing the process, and it provided a list of search terms to use to determine which books to pull and review. Those search terms included: affirmative action, anti-racism, critical race theory, discrimination, diversity, gender dysphoria, gender identity and transition, transgender and white privilege. The U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, removed 381 books from its library in early April after being told by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's office to get rid of those that promote DEI. The purge led to the removal of books on the Holocaust, histories of feminism, civil rights and racism, and Maya Angelou's famous autobiography, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." Others included "Memorializing the Holocaust," which deals with Holocaust memorials; "Half American," about African Americans in World War II; "A Respectable Woman," about the public roles of African American women in 19th century New York; and "Pursuing Trayvon Martin," about the 2012 shooting of a Black 17-year-old in Florida that raised questions about racial profiling. The Navy on Wednesday could not confirm which books have been returned to the library or if Angelou's book or the others will remain pulled from shelves. About two weeks after the Naval Academy purge was ordered, the Army and Air Force libraries were told to go through their stacks to find and remove books related to DEI. Throughout the process, leaders of the military services sought more detailed guidance on which books had to go because the initial order to the Naval Academy was verbal and vague. Dill's memo provided that additional guidance. Similarly, directives to reenlist troops forced out for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine and to remove transgender service members from the military have had to be clarified over time. Defense leaders have had to provide additional guidance and wording to address questions from the services on how to legally and accurately implement the orders. And in several cases, orders had to be refined and reissued.
CBS News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Most books pulled from Naval Academy library are back on the shelves in latest DEI turn
All but a few of the nearly 400 books that the U.S. Naval Academy removed from its library because they dealt with anti-racism and gender issues are back on the shelves after the newest Pentagon-ordered review — the latest turn in a dizzying effort to rid the military of materials related to diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Based on the new review, about 20 books from the academy's library are being pulled aside to be checked, but that number includes some that weren't identified or removed in last month's initial purge of 381 books, defense officials told The Associated Press. A few dozen books at the Air Force libraries — including at the Air Force Academy — also have been pulled out for review, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the process is still ongoing. The back-and-forth on book removals reflects a persistent problem in the early months of the Trump administration, as initial orders and demands for an array of policy changes have been forced to be reworked, fine-tuned and reissued because they were vague, badly defined or problematic. The reviews and changes at military libraries and to websites, social media accounts and more are part of the Trump administration's far-reaching efforts to purge so-called DEI content from federal agencies. The Pentagon earlier this month issued a detailed directive to all military leaders and commands to pull and review all library books addressing diversity, anti-racism or gender issues by Wednesday. The order contained more specific search words than earlier guidance and verbal orders from Defense Department leaders, and officials said it resulted in dramatically fewer banned books than initially thought. The Navy said in a statement Wednesday that it reviewed the library collections at all of its educational institutions to ensure compliance with the directives, noting that materials have been "identified and sequestered." The Army and Air Force also have reviewed their collections. All of the services' libraries had to provide their new lists of books to Pentagon leaders. Now additional guidance will be given on how to cull those lists, if needed, and determine what should be permanently removed. The review also will "determine an appropriate ultimate disposition" for those materials, according to a Defense Department memo. The May 9 memo — signed by Timothy Dill, who is performing the duties of the deputy defense undersecretary for personnel — did not say what will happen to the books or whether they will be stored away or destroyed. The libraries at the military academies and and those at other schools and commands had to remove educational materials "promoting divisive concepts and gender ideology" because they are incompatible with the Defense Department's core mission, the memo said. A temporary Academic Libraries Committee set up by the department is overseeing the process, and it provided a list of search terms to use to determine which books to pull and review. Those search terms included: affirmative action, anti-racism, critical race theory, discrimination, diversity, gender dysphoria, gender identity and transition, transgender and white privilege. The U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, removed 381 books from its library in early April after being told by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's office to get rid of those that promote DEI. The purge led to the removal of books on the Holocaust, histories of feminism, civil rights and racism, and Maya Angelou's famous autobiography, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." Others included "Memorializing the Holocaust," which deals with Holocaust memorials; "Half American," about African Americans in World War II; "A Respectable Woman," about the public roles of African American women in 19th century New York; and "Pursuing Trayvon Martin," about the 2012 shooting of a Black 17-year-old in Florida that raised questions about racial profiling. The Navy on Wednesday could not confirm which books have been returned to the library or if Angelou's book or the others will remain pulled from shelves. About two weeks after the Naval Academy purge was ordered, the Army and Air Force libraries were told to go through their stacks to find and remove books related to DEI. Throughout the process, leaders of the military services sought more detailed guidance on which books had to go because the initial order to the Naval Academy was verbal and vague. Dill's memo provided that additional guidance. Similarly, directives to reenlist troops forced out for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine and to remove transgender service members from the military have had to be clarified over time. Defense leaders have had to provide additional guidance and wording to address questions from the services on how to legally and accurately implement the orders. And in several cases, orders had to be refined and reissued.
Washington Post
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Most books pulled from Naval Academy library are back on the shelves in latest DEI turn
WASHINGTON — All but a few of the nearly 400 books that the U.S. Naval Academy removed from its library because they dealt with anti-racism and gender issues are back on the shelves after the newest Pentagon-ordered review — the latest turn in a dizzying effort to rid the military of materials related to diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Based on the new review , about 20 books from the academy's library are being pulled aside to be checked, but that number includes some that weren't identified or removed in last month's initial purge of 381 books, defense officials told The Associated Press. A few dozen books at the Air Force libraries — including at the Air Force Academy — also have been pulled out for review, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the process is still ongoing. The back-and-forth on book removals reflects a persistent problem in the early months of the Trump administration, as initial orders and demands for an array of policy changes have been forced to be reworked , fine-tuned and reissued because they were vague, badly defined or problematic. The reviews and changes at military libraries and to websites, social media accounts and more are part of the Trump administration's far-reaching efforts to purge so-called DEI content from federal agencies. The Pentagon earlier this month issued a detailed directive to all military leaders and commands to pull and review all library books addressing diversity, anti-racism or gender issues by Wednesday. The order contained more specific search words than earlier guidance and verbal orders from Defense Department leaders, and officials said it resulted in dramatically fewer banned books than initially thought. The Navy said in a statement Wednesday that it reviewed the library collections at all of its educational institutions to ensure compliance with the directives, noting that materials have been 'identified and sequestered.' The Army and Air Force also have reviewed their collections. All of the services' libraries had to provide their new lists of books to Pentagon leaders. Now additional guidance will be given on how to cull those lists, if needed, and determine what should be permanently removed. The review also will 'determine an appropriate ultimate disposition' for those materials, according to a Defense Department memo. The May 9 memo — signed by Timothy Dill, who is performing the duties of the deputy defense undersecretary for personnel — did not say what will happen to the books or whether they will be stored away or destroyed. The libraries at the military academies and those at other schools and commands had to remove educational materials 'promoting divisive concepts and gender ideology' because they are incompatible with the Defense Department's core mission, the memo said. A temporary Academic Libraries Committee set up by the department is overseeing the process, and it provided a list of search terms to use to determine which books to pull and review. Those search terms included: affirmative action, anti-racism, critical race theory, discrimination, diversity, gender dysphoria, gender identity and transition, transgender and white privilege. The U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, removed 381 books from its library in early April after being told by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's office to get rid of those that promote DEI. The purge led to the removal of books on the Holocaust, histories of feminism, civil rights and racism, and Maya Angelou's famous autobiography, 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.' Others included 'Memorializing the Holocaust,' which deals with Holocaust memorials; 'Half American,' about African Americans in World War II; 'A Respectable Woman,' about the public roles of African American women in 19th century New York; and 'Pursuing Trayvon Martin,' about the 2012 shooting of a Black 17-year-old in Florida that raised questions about racial profiling. The Navy on Wednesday could not confirm which books have been returned to the library or if Angelou's book or the others will remain pulled from shelves. About two weeks after the Naval Academy purge was ordered, the Army and Air Force libraries were told to go through their stacks to find and remove books related to DEI . Throughout the process, leaders of the military services sought more detailed guidance on which books had to go because the initial order to the Naval Academy was verbal and vague. Dill's memo provided that additional guidance. Similarly, directives to reenlist troops forced out for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine and to remove transgender service members from the military have had to be clarified over time. Defense leaders have had to provide additional guidance and wording to address questions from the services on how to legally and accurately implement the orders. And in several cases, orders had to be refined and reissued.
